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Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84.

The guitar virtuoso, who played on and collaborated on writing the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away on Wednesday in Nashville.

Often cited among the best supporting groups in soul and R&B, the group the MGs was the resident studio band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is most famous for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent touched countless people around the world," his family stated in a message.

"While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they continued.

A cause of death was not disclosed.

An associate, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on fresh material.

"He's such a kind human," Gore remarked. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."

An Illustrious Journey

Ranked the number two guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper started his career at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were formed, consisting of keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

"I've always seen myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper said in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play the same riff twice."

As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and in addition to Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to his official biography, he was "involved in the majority of record issued by Stax from 1961 through 1970".

"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists we worked with, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."